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Friday, October 3, 2008
Houston's Games of the Week
Houston, TX
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By: Dustin Porterfield, VYPE
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Photo(s) By: Diana Porter
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It's a historic weekend for the city of Houston's football programs. North Shore goes for the state record for consecutive regular season wins and Katy faces off against one of Florida's top programs.
North Shore vs. Lufkin
North Shore (2-0) Head Coach David Aymond is on the brink of breaking the state record of 72 consecutive regular season victories heading into Friday night’s game. After games against annual powers LaMarque, Cy-Falls and Southlake Carroll had to be canceled due to Hurricane Ike, Coach Aymond did the unthinkable and went out and scheduled the Lufkin Panthers. Lufkin (2-2) is known in their own right as perennial state championship contenders. The Panthers won the 5A Division II state title in 2001 with 38-24 victory over Austin Westlake but haven’t made it back to the big game since. They opened up the season with consecutive victories over two Tyler schools, Lee and John Tyler, followed by losses to Longview and Mesquite. Anchoring the defensive side of the ball is DT Jamarkus McFarland who is rated as the #3 player in the entire nation according to rivals. McFarland stands 6-foot-3, weighs in at 280 pounds and his pass rushing skills are equally as impressive as his ability to stop the run. North Shore should understandably have some rust since their last game was September 5 in a victory over Eisenhower. The Mustangs are ranked 3rd in state A.P. poll and will play with plenty of motivation to see Coach Aymond get the record
Winner: North Shore
Weston Cy-Bay vs. Katy
Katy should have their hands full with Weston (Florida) Cypress Bay, who plays in class 6A, the biggest classification in Florida. Florida, along with Texas and California, is known as one of the premier states in America for high school football and more specifically recruiting. Cy Bay finished 10-2 in 2007 and is currently 3-0 and ranked 12th in Florida according to floridavarsity.com. This game should be a good barometer of where the two states stand, as both teams represent the best that either state has to offer. Katy opened up with two bad games against North Shore and The Woodlands in which the offense wasn’t quite up to speed as they could only muster 6 total points in both games. Since then they’ve beaten Flower Mound Marcus and Oak Ridge to move to 2-2 on the year. QB Parker Ray is completing only 35 percent of his passes and has thrown 3 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. 2 losses this early in the year is definitely not what Katy nation is used to, but how the Tigers respond will show just how good of a program Katy actually is.
Winner: Katy
Atascocita vs. Humble
Atascocita (3-0) is the newest member to Humble ISD and got a victory in their first district game of the year in 28-0 win over Macarthur. That was their 2nd shutout in a row after they beat Channelview 40-0 on September 5th. It has been that easy for the Eagles as they barely beat Hastings in a game that went 7 overtimes and in which they also fumbled 7 times. A victory over Humble would be a real boost for this program who only won 3 games all of last year. Xzaviar Jackson is their most complete offensive weapon. Jackson is the leading passer and rusher for Atascocita. Humble surprised all of Houston in week 0 when they upset Cy-Ridge 24-13. It appeared they were on their way to above average season until they dropped their next game to Spring by 28 points. A 10 point victory over Aldine last week moved them to 2-1 and 1-0 in district. Head Coach Walt Beasley likes to throw the ball more than most teams, but it has been their ground game that has been most effective in both of their victories. With the plight of 3out of the 4 Aldine schools, both of these teams should make it in. For that to happen Atascocita can’t have any slip ups in district.
Winner: Humble
Davis vs. Yates
Davis (3-0) has been one of the biggest surprises in class 4A this year and the offense has been the biggest reason why. The Panthers are averaging close to 43 points and 416 total yards a game in victories over Silsbee, Furr and Austin. QB John Castillo is completing 60 percent of his passes while throwing 10 touchdowns compared to only 2 interceptions. WR Patrick Cheniere has been Castillo’s favorite target thus far, hitting him 10 times for 357 yards and 4 TD’s. Davis’ running game has also been effective as RB Nathaniel White has 200 yards and 7 scores. Just as Davis has been the biggest surprise, Yates has been the biggest disappointment. Traditionally known as a 4A power for the past 30 or so years, the Tigers (1-2) have dropped consecutive games to Bay City and Westbury after opening up with a win against lowly Washington. The offense is averaging only 16 points a game and has half of the total offensive out put as Davis. Ronald Miller is in his first year as head coach, taking over for Clarence McKinney who moved on to U of H. Miller must find a way to make this team gel, much like McKinney did in his 4 successful years as coach. Yates won’t find their groove this week. Davis wins soundly.
Winner: Davis
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